Can you imagine a world without vinyl?

I'm not sure by their responses that Albert and Raul totally get what I said above. I didn't say anything about the subjective sound of vinyl compared to CD or vice versa, at any limit you care to push the playback envelope, or at any budget, be it high or low, or anything about my own personal preferences. I'm just talking about the theoretical limits of closely approaching transmitting an exact copy of a mastersource using analog or digital means. (For those who may not know, my vinyl collection is over 10X larger than my CD collection at around 10,000 pieces. And no, I haven't come anywhere near pushing the envelope for playback of either format, and never will. All of which is irrelevent to my post.)

Check this website out; it being of very convenient coincidence. A local record store; lp's as well as cds, ran this website exploring the benefits of vinyl playback. Nothing really new, but telling considering the source. http://media.www.marquettetribune.org/media/storage/paper1130/news/2007/01/25/Marquee/Vinyl-2669616.shtml?sourcedomain=www.marquettetribune.org&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

From the article:

Even if the sound quality of vinyl contains some surface noise, as the static of records notoriously attracts dust, the imperfection is still welcome to many.

And

He also welcomes the unique sound of records. "The surface noise adds to lots," he said. "It gives it weight."

That's the first time I've read an article where noise and pops on an LP are described as beneficial. If my system matched their description I think the "romance" would disappear in about 15 minutes.

Mine is DEAD silent. We get maybe one or two clicks during an entire session that show up unexpectedly within the music. Otherwise the presentation from my turntable is identical to my digital (noise wise).

To single out the one or two clicks a night during a music session that spans 3.5 to 4 hours of LP swapping would be like test driving a Porsche Carrera and complaining about the experience because a gnat splattered on the wind screen.

Music is about emotion. I follow what works, I don't care how much labor it requires or how inconvenient is it. I just want to be in love with the music and analog delivers that emotion, goose bumps, chills and all.

When it's right, it tears at your emotions like the love of a good woman. Digital pulls at your ears but not your heart. Both can be exciting but only one of them sweeps away the world and delivers the goods.

Hey, I'm actually one of those who is capable of enjoying a moderate degree of surface noise on old records of certain musical genres, but not so much with LP's, more so 45's and 78's. And not just noise from uncleanable dust'n'dirt and years of playing on a cheap old turntables/cartridges either, but from a patina of countless light scratches as well. The robustness of the physically larger grooves of the single formats, combined with the higher velocity and therefore pitch of the groove/surface noise generated by higher rpm playback, can allow for a very evocative atmospheric sound to be created in the ears of some devotees of older genres and records. It's not unlike the desirability of leaving the timeworn finish untouched on a piece of antique wooden furniture.